Northwest Stamper

Tag: jennifer blomquist

  • It’s here! Get the Stampin’ Up! Starter Kit for only $87.50!

    I’ve gotten a little behind on my posts this week and so while I try to catch up this afternoon, I wanted to remind you that yesterday was the start of the two week special for joining the Stampin’ Up! family and getting your starter kit for 50% off! 

    This is an amazing opportunity – whether you are looking for a way to save money on your favorite products as a hobby demonstrator or want to earn extra money each month as a business demonstrator.  The starter kit gets you over $310 worth of products and supplies to get going or build your collection, and you can get it today for only $87.50 plus FREE SHIPPING!

    It’s your opportunity.  You decide how much or how little you want to do but regardless – you get until March 31st to enjoy all the benefits of being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator.

    I would love to help you learn how you can have as much fun as I have and get you everything you want out of being a demonstrator. 

    Have questions?  Drop me a line and we can chat in person or over the phone.  Email me at jennifer@nwstamper.com.  You can also see more details and a video here.

    Ready to get started?  Visit my official Stampin’ Up! website and click ‘Join Now’.  My recruiter code is nwstamper; and you are on your way!

     

    Pick your kit!  All this for less than the price of the stamps!

    Until November 30th, you can get either kit for the discounted price.  The starter kit is all paper crafting supplies and the digital kit includes My Digital Studio! 

       

    Click either image to see a full list of what is included.

  • Some Northern Hearts Card Candy

    I realized recently that while most people know what Blog Candy is (fun giveaways on a blog), that one of the things I gave away in my recent blog candy was “card candy” and that term may not be as familiar to some people.  Well, I wanted to share what I mean and the fun card candy I sent to Penny.

    I first heard the term “card candy” in reference to a swap at convention and when I read more, I learned that it means treats and embellishments for your cards.  In other words, the layered embellishments that you can put on simple card bases and layouts to add a fun touch.  So, in keeping with the theme I used for the box on the Royal Blog Tour, I did some more playing with the stamp set and other punches and embellishments to create some pieces that can be used on a card later.

    It was fun to play with the stamps, punches, and other elements to see what I could come up with that would be cute and could be used incorporated into another project.  I also tried out some new stuff and really liked how they turned out and so I wanted to share with you.

    First, I thought it would be fun to use the Northern Flurries embossing folder but once I had embossed the Bashful Blue paper it looked a bit plain.  I suddenly thought of my Stampin’ Pastels (chalks) that I hadn’t pulled out in ages and started experimenting with them.  Then I decided to add some bling to the center and then a little more Dazzling Diamonds glitter just to make sure there was some extra sparkle.  I really liked using chalks with the embossing folder and will have to play more with this.

     

    Then I started playing with the snowflakes as background images and wanted to add a little pop, so I stamped the snowflakes on Whisper White, punched out the centers, and added them to the edges of the paper, trimming what hung over the edge.  Then I punched two holes in the top to make a faux bow.  I LOVE how this ribbon looks when you make this bow.  The satin center shows in the middle and you still get the organza showing on the bits that hang out the side.  I’m definitely going to have to do this again.

    Finally, the last one I thought I’d talk about specifically is my little tag.  It was so cool to me when I realized that the birds fit perfectly in the Extra Large Tag punch.  So, I used my markers to only color in the birds and part of the vine on the bottom.  Then, I wanted to try something different with the ribbon and so grabbed the Whisper White Organza and this time colored the center part only using my Always Artichoke marker.  It went really fast and turned out so much nicer than I expected!

    I hope Penny enjoys using these in her projects!  And now you know what I mean when I say “card candy” too. Smile 

    Just a note that if you’ve been enjoying these Northern Hearts projects, this is a hostess set that is only going to be available while the Holiday Mini is here (so until mid-January.  So, if you are enjoying these projects and this set, I’d be happy to help you earn this set for free.  Just send me a note at jennifer@nwstamper.com and I’ll see what we can do!

  • Holiday Scrapbooking with My Digital Studio

    I suddenly realized yesterday that the deadline for the My Digital Studio contest is coming up quick!  I was hoping to get an entry submitted but wanted to play around for a bit first to get the creative juices flowing.  So, tonight, I decided to work on a 12×12 layout.

    This was actually started as a 12×12 calendar after a friend inspired me by sharing the 12×12 calendars she creates for her family each year.  However, my idea for what I was going to do for my January got sidetracked as I started playing with stamps and punches and it became this scrapbooking layout:

    Holiday Joy MDS

    I love this photo of Nicholas and thought it would fit well in the layout.  Turns out I love it!  This uses all the default stamps/paper/embellishments in My Digital Studio plus the additional Taffeta Ribbon download.  The stamp sets are Winter Post and Old Saint Nick, the Holiday Joy is just text using fonts from my computer, and the snowflakes are punch shapes that have been enlarged.

    What is your favorite thing to create with My Digital Studio?

  • Wow! Get the Stampin’ Up! Starter kit for 50% off!

    Oh my goodness!  This morning I saw that Stampin’ Up! had announced a special limited time offer, give you the FULL Standard or Digital starter kit for only $87.50 plus free shipping.

    I know, crazy right?!?  Stampin’ Up! has had some great promotions to help you get started as a demonstrator but this is by far the best I’ve ever seen.

    From November 15 – 30th, you can get over $310 worth of stamps, ink, paper, accessories, business supplies, and more for only $87.50! That’s 50% off the regular price of $175 for over $310 worth of supplies!  See what’s included here!

    So, if you’ve been considering joining Stampin’ Up! whether to start your own business, be a hobby demo and mainly sell to yourself and friends, or are just looking for a great discount on your favorites – now is an awesome time to take the plunge.

    You can sign up anytime starting on the 15th of November by visiting my official Stampin’ Up! website and clicking “Join Now” (my recruiter password is nwstamper).

    Here are the details:

    • The Simply Amazing Recruiting Promotion lasts from November 15 through November 30, 2010.
    • Both the Standard Starter Kit and the Digital+ Kit are available at 50 percent off the regular kit. These are full starter kits, not mini or reduced-content kits.
    • You can still add the Stampin’ Memories or Digital+ Add-On to your starter kit.
    • If you join during the Simply Amazing Recruiting Promotion, you are still eligible for any programs available to a new recruit. This includes but is not limited to the extra 10 percent Instant Income offer, Stampin’ Start, the opportunity to purchase a Business Booster Kit, and a free two-month Demonstrator Business Web Services (DBWS) subscription.
    • Plus I’ll be there for you as a resource and support to help you achieve your goals as well!
    • See the full flyer here

    Treat yourself to a big box of goodies and a fun opportunity at a steal of a deal!  Have questions or want more information, email me or give me a call!  (650) 209-5964

  • A Curly Cute Congratulations

    So, to continue the celebratory mood, I thought I would post a fun little Congratulations card.  I actually made this card while traveling in Portland and so I was limited to mostly scraps and a small amount of supplies I had on hand.  However, having limited resources can sometimes bring out some cool combinations you wouldn’t have thought of before.

    For example, in this card, I wanted a hint of color and had some scraps of the Elegant Soiree DSP and the Greenhouse Gala DSP.  Mix them together and you get a neat collage of patterns.  Plus, they were mellow enough colors that I thought they would do well to accent a piece of Elegant Eggplant cardstock for the base (oohh… did you see what I did there?  Elegant Soiree and Elegant Eggplant!  Ok, yeah, that was totally accidental, but I’ll still call it fate.)  🙂

    I added some adhesive backed pearls to the corners for a little extra flair and finished it off with a box from Old Olive satin ribbon.  And let me just say, this is the easiest bow you will ever make! 

    To make the bow:
    Cut one length of ribbon and adhere the ends together making a loop.  Then, cut a second piece of the ribbon and wrap it around your first loop, adhering the ends of that second piece together to make the cinch in the middle of your box.  Stick to your card with glue dots and you’re done!  No tying required!

  • Northern Hearts Blog Candy Winner!

    Oh my, I’m running a bit late aren’t I?  Well, I wanted to put up a quick post to announce the winner of my blog candy.  After pushing the button on Random.org, the winner is…..

    Penny Hanuszak

     

    Congratulations, Penny!  I’ll be sending you this box filled with fun goodies as soon as I hear from you. 

    And thank you to everyone stopped by and left me such great comments.  It really put a big smile on my face this weekend to hear from so many people who visited, checked out, and enjoyed my projects.  Hope to see you around here again soon! 

  • Making the Northern Hearts Gift Box

    Wow, what a weekend that was with lots of great projects shared in the Royal Blog Tour!  I appreciate all the visits and comments folks let for my projects.  Its a lot of fun to hear from people who stop by.  As promised, I’ll be sharing the details for the Northern Hearts gift box today.

    If you are a member of my mailing list, you will receive a link to a pdf tutorial for this box will full step-by-step instructions tomorrow when I send out the November newsletter.  Not a member of my mailing list?  There is still time to sign up and receive the full tutorial as well.

    Making the Gift Box

    To create this box, you need two pieces of cardstock:
    – one 9 3/4” x 9 3/4” piece of  bashful blue cardstock for the base of the box
    – one 5 3/8” x 5 3/8” piece of bashful blue cardstock for the lid of the box

    IMG_1707Stamp the 9 3/4” square piece of cardstock with the snowflakes from the Northern Hearts stamp set in a random pattern.  I stamped using bashful blue ink and chose not to stamp the lid.

    Score the large square at 3 1/4” from each side.  Score the small square 1” from each side.  Crease your score lines using a bone folder.  Then, using the score lines as a guide, cut along the score lines to allow you to fold each square into a box.  Specifically, you want to cut from the top edge of the paper to the first horizontal score line in the middle of the page, repeat that only cutting from the bottom of the paper to the first horizontal score line you come to.

    You will want to use sticky strip to adhere the flaps you just cut to form the box.  Because this is a 3D project, most tape runners and glue sticks don’t give you a strong enough hold to support being picked up and used to hold weight.  Here is a photo showing where I cut my paper and placed the sticky strip pieces:

    IMG_1708

    Remove the backing of the sticky strip and fold the sides in to create your box and lid.  Now to embellish!

    I first used the Northern Trim letterpress die to create two strips of colored debossing.  One cool thing about the dimensions of this box, is that you can use one debossed strip for two sides of the lid.  So, I used Confetti White paper with Always Artichoke and Rose Red craft ink to create my two strips.  I trimmed the strips down to make four 3/4” x 3 3/8” strips.  Adhere these strips to each side of the box lid; they should fit exactly as long as each side of the lid and be centered vertically so that you see some Bashful Blue above and below the trim.

    IMG_1709

    Next I stamped the birds image from the Northern Hearts stamp set and matted that with some Always Artichoke paper (the Whisper White paper is popped up on dimensionals).  Adhere to your “front” of your box.  Then, I decided to add a little bling, and so I placed some of the adhesive-backed Rhinestones to the center flower on each side of the lid and in the upper corners of the bird stamped image.

    IMG_1715

    Finally, to create the handle, I used my Crop-a-dile to punch a hole on the sides adjacent to the “front” of the box.  Because I used jumbo eyelets, you will want to use the bigger of the two hole punches (3/16″) with the Crop-a-dile set to let you punch as deep as possible.  Once you’ve punched the hole, use the Crop-a-dile to set a jumbo pewter eyelet to finish it off.  Thread some Whisper White Organza ribbon through the eyelet and knot on the inside of the box to create your handle (I had to knot the ribbon twice on each side to ensure the know was big enough to not slip through the hole in the eyelet.

    Overall, this is a very easy project to complete and can be completed fairly quickly.

    As I mentioned before, mailing list subscribers will get the full PDF tutorial for this project which include step-by-step instructions with more photos, so if you are not a subscriber, I invite you to join now and I’ll be sure you get a copy..

    If you have any questions about this project, please feel free to leave me a comment or send me an email and I’d be happy to help you out!

    Also, if you need any supplies for this project, contact me or shop the online store now.

    If you entered my Blog Candy for a chance to win this box full of goodies, check back later today when I will be announcing the winner!  Until then, happy stamping!

  • Royal Blog Tour – Sharing Northern Hearts and Blog Candy!

    Welcome to my little stop here on the Royal Blog Tour!  I hope you’ve been enjoying all the amazing and creative projects the princesses have been sharing along your journey.  For my stop, I wanted to share with you some simple yet fun ways to use the Northern Hearts stamp set.

    This stamp set is a hostess set available in the 2010 Holiday Mini.  I originally thought it was just a nice simple set, but the more I started playing with it, the more I saw how it coordinates with some other new and super cute items.  I guess the fact that they are all named “Northern something” should have tipped me off, but I can be a bit slow sometimes.

    Northern stuff thumb

    Anyway, first I noticed that the large snowflake from the stamp set was the same as the large snowflake in the embossing folder.  So, I tried combining the two.  I added some shimmer paint to the stamp before I stamped to give it a bit of shine like snow when I stamped it on the Whisper White base.  I also sponged some of the shimmer paint onto the embossed image to sparkle up the Baja Breeze paper.

    Next, I started playing with the wreath stamp from this set.  I had some fun with different color markers to give it a more mottled, natural look.  Then I started playing with punches but didn’t like how it was turning out so I ended up hand cutting out the wreath.  It was cute but a little bare, so I added in on of the birds from the love birds stamp.  Finally, what is a wreath without somewhere to hang it from, so I used the branches from that same bird set and after coloring with markers, stamped a few times to make it look like tree branches.  Add some DSP and fun ribbon, and you have another fun little card.

    Finally, I decided I wanted to make one more project and so I went for a 3D gift box that you could decorate for the holidays or really for anytime.  I used the Snowflakes and the Love Birds stamps from this set to decorate this 3 1/4” x 3 1/4” box.  This is perfect for a stash of 3×3 cards or to fill with treats for your favorite someone.

    I will be posting the instructions for this box on my blog when the tour is over.  So come back on November 9th to see more details!

    Well, I hope you enjoyed viewing these projects since I sure had fun making them.

    Blog Candy Time!

    Leave me a comment letting me know what you think and you’ll be entered into a drawing for some BLOG CANDY (you must include your email address so I can contact you if you win).

    What’s up for grabs?  You will get this box filled with some cards, some card candy (embellishments for you to use on your own cards), and some actual yummy candy!

  • Don’t Miss Your FREE Craft Tote & Eat Chocolate Stamp Set!

    What would you do with an extra $300 a month?

    This Sunday November 7th, is the last day to take advantage of the FREE Greenhouse Gala craft tote and FREE sneak peek stamp set – Eat Chocolate when you join my team and become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator.

    That’s right! Not only do you get all the awesome benefits of being a demonstrator, but you get the new starter kit and these free goodies too!  It’s a $400 value for only $175.

    Its your business so you decide if you want to be a hobby demo for the discount or use it as your own home based business.

    Contact me to learn more

    If you are interested in learning more about the Stampin’ Up! opportunity please contact me at jennifer@nwstamper.com and I’d be happy to tell you more and answer any questions you have.

    Or check out some great information and videos on my Stampin’ Up website here:
    http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/nwstamper/startyourownbusiness

  • More Holiday Stamp-a-Stack Cards

    As promised, I have the last two cards we created at our Holiday Stamp-a-Stack  (you can see the details on the first two in my post from yesterday).

    Seasons Greetings

    Like I said yesterday, these cards were meant to be fairly easy to make though I guess the hand cutting on this card is a bit more time intensive than the other cards we did.  I really liked how the holly looked cut out and hanging over the matting, but I’ll share a couple variations folks made that may be a bit faster to do for those of you less inclined to cut intricate images. 🙂

    This card uses the Peaceful Seasons hostess set from the Holiday Mini.  It’s a very simple and straightforward layout and so you could really use it for any stamps or holiday.  In this case, we popped the Garden Green and Very Vanilla cardstock up on Stampin’ Dimensionals in the center of the Cherry Cobbler cardbase, over some Very Vanilla 5/8” grosgrain ribbon.  We also used markers to color in the holly image using Garden Green, Chocolate Chip, and Cherry Cobbler on Very Vanilla cardstock. Then we cut out the holly and adhered it straight down onto the corner of the matted image.  In my sample, I only put Snail adhesive in the middle of the holly so that the edges could curl up and add some dimension without needing an actual dimensional.

    During one of the sessions, a couple folks decided to get a bit creative to avoid cutting out the holly.  So these are some options they came up with:

    Yes, the globe ornament is cut out, but I think it is easier to cut than the holly.  Well, and the fact that she was really into doves and “Peace on Earth”

    Jolly Holiday Seasons Greetings

    I swear, I always end up with way more ideas that I want to do for my classes and workshops than is practical.  So, I decided that I really wanted to let everyone play with the new Tags til Christmas set and the matching Ornament punch.  This stamp set is aimed directly at me because I love punches probably too much and oh my goodness when I see stamp sets that every stamp in the set matches a punch.

    Plus, the stamp and punch are one of the Handmade Holiday bundles for 20% off!  I know, I’m a sucker for sales. 🙂  Anyway, back to the card:

    This card is so fast and is still super cute in person.  Plus add some of the adhesive rhinestones to the ornament or a little glitter for even more kick!  However, for this quick version, we stamped the ornament image from Tags til Christmas in Cherry Cobbler and punched it out using the Ornament punch.  We adhered three patterns of the Jolly Holiday DSP to the bottom of the Old Olive cardbase and then added a piece of Soft Suede Cardstock that was punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch.  Finally we stamped the sentiment from the Curly Cute stamp set in Cherry Cobbler and then adhered the ornament image using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

    Want to make these cards? Join me on November 20th when I do this class again; or if you can’t make it, you can order the supplies though my online store or for an even easier and faster method, get the kit!

    Get the Kit!

    I’m offering this as a Holiday Card Class to Go kit where you will get precut and scored supplies for 12 cards (3 each of the following 4 designs)

    Holiday Card Kit Thumb

    You will get full color instructions, precut paper, scored cardbases, punched shapes, brads, ribbon, dimensionals, and envelopes – all for only $25 plus shipping.  Its an easy way to get your holiday cards done without the hassle and leaves you time to add your own personal touch if you so desire.

    Plus, if you order this kit from me, you have the option of adding a bottle of Shimmer Paint for only $5!  That is a 16% discount plus no additional shipping!







    Select your option:








  • The Coolest New My Digital Studio Download

    So, you might have seen via Facebook that there are 5 new digital downloads for My Digital Studio (or really for any photo editing/digital software).  They are pretty cute and perfect for the holidays but my mom pointed out something about one of them last night that made me go, “WOW!”

    So check out the Jolly Jingles Digital Brush Set:

    image

    I hadn’t seen this stamp set before until my mom told me to look at the Jolly Jingles jumbo wheel:

    image

    Yep, that’s right, it’s the same images from the wheel only as individual stamps!  How cool is that??

     

    Here are the rest of the new downloads:

    Christmas Cheer Digital Kit          Decorative Label Punch        Medium Label Punch

    Christmas Cheer Digital Kit --Digital Download       image        image 

    PS – did you know you can resize the digital punches so that they can be as big or as small as you want?  Its perfect for journaling on your pages or highlighting different sized images or patterns.

    Tags Til Christmas Stamp Brush Set

    image

    Check out the online store to see these and all the digital downloads available.  Get your favorite and you’ll be able to download and start using them immediately!

  • Holiday Card Class part 1–Dasher and Northern Flurries

    This last weekend I held my first Holiday Card stamp-a-stack of the season.  In an attempt to get a jump of making all your holiday cards this year, I put together a class for folks to make 12 cards – 3 each of 4 different designs.  It was an interesting challenge for me to put together cards that were fun and yet didn’t take a ton of time to make each one.  In the end, I love how these turned out.  Here are the first two we did:

    Shimmery Dasher

    This card was the simplest of all the cards we did.  It used one of my favorite patterns from the Deck the Halls DSP from the Holiday mini directly on Crumb Cake cardstock.  Then we stamped the A La Carte stamp – Dasher – on a piece of Whisper White and matted that with Chocolate Chip cardstock.

    The part where it gets a little extra fun thrown in is on his antlers.  For this we added a bit of Frost White Shimmer Paint.  To get this effect, you ink up your stamp with Chocolate Chip ink and then before stamping, use a sponge dauber to dab shimmer paint directly onto the antlers – on top of the Chocolate Chip ink.  Now stamp and see the the shimmer.

     

    Vellum Northern Flurries

    This card was inspired by a card I received at the Portland Regionals created by Jenn Lindamood.  I tweaked it a little bit and really love how this looks in person. 

    We embossed Cardstock Vellum using the Northern Flurries embossing folder from the Holiday Mini.  Before adhering the embossed piece to the Night of Navy base with silver brads, we stamped on Whisper White cardstock, snowflakes from the Northern Hearts hostess set in Bashful Blue and then stamped the sentiment from Many Merry Messages in Night of Navy.  Punch that out with the designer label punch and glue down to your card base.  Now attach your Vellum and you have a quick and pretty holiday card!

    Tomorrow I’ll share the other two cards we made in this class. 

    Get the kit

    If you want to make these cards yourself, I am offering the entire class as a Holiday Card Class to Go kit giving you the full color instructions, pre-cut supplies, and envelopes for 12 total cards for only $25 plus shipping

    or attend my second Holiday Stamp-a-Stack session on November 20th if you are in the Bay Area.

    Contact me at jennifer@nwstamper.com to reserve your space or your card kit!